Crow's Row: Julie Hockle

Woah....Just finished a bit of a reading marathon.  Or, at least it feels that way emotionally.  Julie Hockley's Crow's Row Series has me kind of reeling.  I feel like I've been through all of the drama myself and now that I'm not reading this book, I don't know what to do with myself.  I'll just give the blurb to the first book because the second blurb gets into spoiler territory.

Blurb:

For college student Emily Sheppard, the thought of spending a summer alone in New York is much more preferable than spending it in France with her parents. Just completing her freshman year at Callister University, Emily faces a quiet summer in the city slums, supporting herself by working at the campus library. During one of her jogs through the nearby cemetery while visiting her brother Bill's grave, Emily witnesses a brutal killing-and then she blacks out. When Emily regains consciousness, she realizes she's been kidnapped by a young crime boss and his gang. She is hurled into a secret underworld, wondering why she is still alive and for how long.

Held captive in rural Vermont, she tries to make sense of her situation and what it means. While uncovering secrets about her brother and his untimely death, Emily falls in love with her very rich and very dangerous captor, twenty-six year- old Cameron. She understands it's a forbidden love and one that won't allow her to return to her previous life. But love may not be enough to save Emily when no one even knows she is missing.

Review: 4 Stars

I didn't know much about this series when I started reading, aside from the blurb and there being some excitement about the second book coming out.  This books turns out to be a pretty stellar read that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  I'm only moderately interested in story lines about the underworld. But, I really couldn't put these books down.  

The romance side of this book is not straightforward by any means.  I am still not sure whether there is an element of Stockholm Syndrome going on here.   Cameron is an interesting anti-hero, though pretty frustrating at the same time.

Now the challenge is waiting for the third and final instalment in the series.  It took about 3 years to get the second book.  I'll probably have to re-read these books when the third book comes out.  

So - that pretty much tells you nothing about the books.  Suffice to say, they're worth the read and better to go in blind that know the storyline.

Here's to Falling: Christine Zolendz

Blurb:

Every girl has that one guy…that one guy who steals her heart and never gives it back.

We were all friends…until we weren’t.
We depended on each other…until we couldn’t.
We were in love…until we were ripped apart.
We moved on…even when we didn’t want to let go.

This is our love story.

Review: 4 Stars

Not an easy read by any means.  Most of the first quarter of Charlie's life epitomized the expression "kick them when they're down."  This book is inspired by real events and although it is not entirely clear which parts are fictional, there are a couple of heartbreaking "boom" moments that will stick with me well after I have moved on to other books. 

You taught me to be strong before I ever knew there were things in this world you needed strength for.

I think I need some light reading to recover from this one.

The author does an excellent job of weaving past and present along with dual POV.  I can't say I was thrilled with the time jump in the epilogue.  Selfishly, I feel like I earned a bit of present day love, rather than 50+ years in the future.  But, the character development was strong and there is no doubt about the connection between the MCs.  

The Destiny of Violet & Luke: Jessica Sorenson

If the first two books in The Coincidence Series were sad, the next three are downright depressing.  The covers for The Destiny of Violet & Luke, The Probability of Violet & Luke and The Certainty of Violet & Luke feature the same two people, so I'll just put one image up.

Blurb (for the Coincidence of Violet & Luke)

Luke Price's life has always been about order, control, and acting tough on the outside. For Luke, meaningless relationships are a distraction-a way to tune out the twisted memories of his childhood. He desperately wishes he could forget his past, but it haunts him no matter what he does.

Violet Hayes has had a rough life. When she was young, she was left with no family and the memory of her parents' unsolved murders. She grew up in foster homes, living with irresponsible parents, drugs, and neglect, and trying to fight the painful memories of the night her parents were taken from her. But it's hard to forget when she never got closure-and she can't stop dreaming about what happened that tragic night. To make it through life, she keeps her distance from everyone and never allows herself to feel anything.

Then Violet meets Luke. The two clash instantly, yet they can't seem to stay away from each other. Although they fight it, they both start to open up and feel things they've never felt before. They discover just how similar they are. But they also discover something else: The past always catches up with you . . . 

Review: 3.5 Stars

Very much like the first two books in the series, Luke and Violet face a lot of difficulties, primarily due to the adults that have failed them throughout their lives.  Also like Callie and Kayden, the two MCs of this series cope with their issues in unhealthy ways.

I was a bit saddened by the lesser importance Callie and Kayden seemed to have in Luke's life than the reverse.  Even though Callie was a bit nervous around Luke, he became apart of her inner circle and played a fairly prominent role in her life.  In these books, it almost seemed like Callie and Kayden were more annoyances to Luke than anything.  

These books were a tough read because they primarily centred on how difficult their lives were and how much of a challenge it was to move on in life.  So, it's hard to say that it was an enjoyable read.  It was a depressing read.  Honestly, I started taking on their sadness and ended thinking about depressing things in my own life.  I need a break from the series before I go back from Seth's story.  

Still, the writing was compelling.  I like Luke and Violet together.  I would have been happy with two books instead of three.